Mumbai, Feb 27 (PTI) In the wake of rape of a woman inside a parked state transport bus in Pune, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Thursday ordered a security audit of all bus stations and depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).
He also said all buses and other vehicles parked inside the MSRTC depots across the state will be disposed of before April 15 this year.
A 26-year-old woman was allegedly raped inside a state transport bus at the Swargate bus station in Pune on Tuesday. The accused, a 37-year-old history-sheeter named Dattatray Ramdas Gade, is yet to be arrested. According to police, Gade has half a dozen cases of theft, robbery and chain-snatching registered against him in Pune and adjoining Ahilyanagar district, and was out on bail since 2019 in one of the offences.
Addressing a press conference at Mantralaya, the state secretariat here, after taking a review of the security scenario at the MSRTC bus depots and premises in the wake of the Swargate rape case, Sarnaik said he has given directions to conduct a security audit of the MSRTC bus stations and depots.
The corporation has around 580 bus stands and 251 bus stations across the state.
“An audit of all the bus depots and stations will be conducted, and whatever deficiencies come to light in it, we will try to rectify them,” he said.
The minister called for the appointment of an IPS officer on the MSRTC to oversee the security.
“The post of a security and vigilance officer, where IPS officers are appointed, has been lying vacant. We have requested the chief minister and deputy chief minister to appoint an IPS officer on this post,” he said.
“The appointment of an IPS officer is the responsibility of the home department. What responsibility the home department is going to give him, the chief minister will decide,” he added.
CCTV cameras will be made mandatory along with GPS and panic buttons in around 15,000 MSRTC buses, including those hired from private contractors, Sarnaik said.
Police have identified the accused in the Swargate rape case after examining the CCTV footage inside the depot, and the footage was also handed over to them for further investigation, he said.
At present, the MSRTC has around 2,700 security guards appointed through various security boards, and they are conducting a review to see if this number can be increased along with a 15-20 per cent rise in the number of female security guards, according to him.
Sarnaik also requested female passengers to continue to use MSRTC buses for their travel without fear as in the past.
“I want to assure them that the government is behind them,” he said.
In the wake of the rape incident, the security guards deputed at the Swargate bus station have been replaced, and action will be taken against the bus driver, controller or depot manager if they are found guilty, the minister assured.
Replying to a question about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to upgrade security, he said this technology is being used everywhere, and even his department plans to make use of it as much as possible.
When asked about accused Gade appearing in a banner of a former MLA of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), Sarnaik said the police would carry out a probe into it. PTI KK NP
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